Terminal fitting

ABSTRACT

A terminal fitting ( 10 ) includes a tubular connecting portion ( 11 ) into which a male tab ( 90 ) is to be inserted. A plate-shaped resiliently deflectable contact ( 14 ) is formed separately from the connecting portion ( 11 ) and extends in a front-back direction in the connecting portion ( 11 ) for contacting the male tab ( 90 ) inserted into the connecting portion ( 11 ). The connecting portion ( 11 ) includes locks ( 24 ) for locking the resilient contact ( 14 ) to the connecting portion ( 11 ). A support ( 42 ) as a deflection supporting point of the resilient contact ( 14 ) is provided on a rear end of the resilient contact portion ( 14 ). The support ( 42 ) is located behind the front ends of receiving portions ( 41 ) of the resilient contact ( 14 ) to be locked by the locks ( 24 ).

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a terminal fitting.

2. Description of the Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,155 discloses a terminal fitting that has a tubularconnecting portion with a front end. A plate-shaped resilientlydeflectable contact is formed separately from the connecting portion andextends in a front-back direction in the connecting portion. A tab of amating male terminal fitting is inserted into the connecting portionfrom the front and contacts the resilient contact to connect theterminal fittings electrically.

The connecting portion has a rear locking piece that is cut and bentfrom the bottom wall and shaped to lock the rear end part of theresilient contact portion from behind. Thus, a deflection support of theresilient contact is set before the rear locking piece.

The longitudinal length of a spring area of the resilient contact beforethe deflection support needs to be sufficiently long to exhibit asatisfactory springiness and to ensure smooth connection to the maletab. However, a demand for miniaturization limits the length of theterminal fitting. The rear locking piece is behind the deflectionsupport. Thus, the length of the connecting portion is at least the sumof the longitudinal lengths of the spring area and the rear lockingpiece of the resilient contact. As a result, the above-describedterminal fitting cannot easily meet the demand for miniaturization.

The invention was completed based on the above situation and aims toprovide a terminal fitting capable of meeting a request forminiaturization and satisfactorily exhibiting the springiness of aresilient contact.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a terminal fitting with a tubular connectingportion. A plate-shaped resiliently deflectable contact is formedseparately from the connecting portion and extends in a front-backdirection in the connecting portion. A mating male tab can be insertedinto the connecting portion from the front and resiliently contacts thecontact. The connecting portion includes a lock that is locked to theresilient contact. A deflection supporting point of the resilientcontact is on one of the front and rear end parts of the resilientcontact; and a part of the resilient contact to be locked by the lock isat a position overlapping an area extending from the supporting point tothe other of the front and rear end parts of the resilient contact inthe front-back direction. Thus, the lock is within the range of thelongitudinal length of the spring area of the resilient contact, and thelongitudinal length of the spring area of the resilient contact is notincreased by the lock. As a result, the resilient contact can exhibitsatisfactory springiness even if the longitudinal length of theconnecting portion is shortened with the miniaturization of the terminalfitting.

The resilient contact preferably includes a contact main body extendingin the front-back direction and two receiving portions protruding towardopposite outer sides from one of front and rear end parts of the contactmain body. The receiving portions are the parts to be locked by thelock. The supporting point is provided on the one of the front and rearend parts of the contact main body. Two slits are provided in theresilient contact between the contact main body and the receivingportions and open toward the other of the front and rear end parts frompositions on the side of the supporting point in the front-backdirection. The slits ensure a sufficient longitudinal length of thespring area of the resilient contact. Further, the slits prevent alocking force of the lock to be transmitted to the supporting point ofthe contact main body and a deflection supporting function of thesupporting point is exhibited without difficulty. Furthermore, couplingmargins of the contact main body and the receiving portions can beensured by adjusting the lengths of the slits, so that the desiredresiliency of the resilient contact can be achieved.

The receiving portions are fixed by caulking to the connecting portionby the locking portion and may be thinner than other parts of theresilient contact portion. Caulking the receiving portions to theconnecting portion could shift the receiving portions toward the contactmain body, thereby narrowing the slits, and could cause the supportingpoint to deform sufficiently to impede smooth deformation of the contactmain body. However, the receiving portions are thinner than the otherparts of the resilient contact. Thus, the supporting point is notdeformed and the contact main body deflects smoothly.

The supporting point may be on the rear end part of the resilientcontact and may be behind the front end of the part to be locked by thelock. Thus, a large holding force can be obtained between the resilientcontact portion and the male tab when the male tab is inserted into theconnecting portion.

The supporting point may be on the front end part of the resilientcontact portion and may be before the rear end of the part to be lockedby the lock. Thus, insertion resistance of the male tab into theconnecting portion can be suppressed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a terminal fitting of a first embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the terminal fitting.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the terminal fitting.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the terminal fitting.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the interior of a connectingportion.

FIG. 6 is a section along A-A of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side view in section showing the interior of the connectingportion.

FIG. 8 is a front view in section showing the interior of the connectingportion.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a resilient contact.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the resilient contact.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the resilient contact.

FIG. 12 is a section of a part of the resilient contact corresponding toboth receiving portions.

FIG. 13 is a side view partly in section of the terminal fittinginserted into a cavity of a connector housing.

FIG. 14 is a side view partly in section of the terminal fitting with amating male tab is inserted in the connecting portion.

FIG. 15 is a side view partly in section of the terminal fitting withthe male tab properly inserted in the connecting portion.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the blank for forming the terminal fitting.

FIG. 17 is a side view of a terminal fitting of a second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a side view in section of the terminal fitting.

FIG. 19 is a plan view in section of the interior of a connectingportion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A first embodiment of the invention is described with reference to FIGS.1 to 16. A terminal fitting 10 of this embodiment is made of anelectrically conductive metal plate material and is long and is narrowin a front-back direction. As shown in FIG. 13, the terminal fitting 10is inserted into a cavity 61 of a connector housing 60 and is connectedelectrically to a male tab 90 of a mating connector, as shown in FIG.15, as the housing 60 is connected to an unillustrated housing of themating connector.

The terminal fitting 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and includes a tubularconnecting portion 11, a wire barrel 12 behind the connecting portion 11and an insulation barrel 13 behind the wire barrel 12. A resilientcontact 14 in the form of a plate is provided separately from theconnecting portion 11 and is arranged in the connecting portion 11. Theresilient contact 14 is made of copper alloy with high springiness andis formed of a material different from the connecting portion 11, whichis made of brass.

As shown in FIG. 13, the wire barrel 12 is crimped and connected to acore 82 exposed by removing insulation coating 81 at an end of a wire 80and the insulation barrel 13 is crimped and connected to the insulationcoating 81 at the end part of the wire 80.

The connecting portion 11 is a long narrow rectangular tube extending inthe front-back direction and includes, as shown in FIG. 4, a base wall15 extending along a width direction, two side walls 16 erected fromopposite sides of the base wall 15 and a facing wall 17 extendingbetween upper ends of the side walls 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the basewall 15 extends over the entire length of the terminal fitting 10 andalso defines bottom parts of the wire barrel 12 and the insulationbarrel 13. A rectangular lance hole 18 is formed in the base wall 15between the connecting portion 11 and the wire barrel 12. As shown inFIG. 13, when the terminal fitting 10 is inserted properly into thecavity 61, a tip of a locking lance 62 projecting from the inner wall ofthe cavity 61 is fit resiliently into the lance hole 18 of the base wall15 and retains the terminal fitting 10 in the cavity 61.

As shown in FIG. 7, an excessive deflection preventing portion 19projects into the connecting portion 11 on a part of the base wall 15facing the resilient contact 14. As shown in FIG. 8, the excessivedeflection preventing portion 19 is a rib extending along the widthdirection and formed by striking the base wall 15 up. The resilientcontact 14 contacts the excessive deflection preventing portion 19 toprevent excessive deflection and deformation. Further, as shown in FIGS.3 and 5, a projecting piece 21 projects forward in a widthwise centralpart of the front end of the base wall 15. The front end of theprojecting piece 21 is at substantially the same position as the frontends of the side walls 16 and the facing wall 17.

As shown in FIG. 8, the facing wall 17 is composed of a lower wall 17Aextending from the upper end of one side wall 16 to a locked engagementwith an upper part of the other side wall 16 and an upper wall 17Bextending from the upper end of the other side wall 16 toward the upperend of the one side wall 16 while being placed on the upper surface ofthe lower wall 17A. As shown in FIG. 7, the lower wall 17A is formedwith a tab receiving portion 22 that projects into the connectingportion 11 at a position facing the resilient contact 14. The tabreceiving portion 22 is a rib extending in the front-back direction andformed by striking the lower wall 17A down.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, confirmation windows 23 are formed on lowerparts of the side walls 16 and receive confirmation pieces 34 of theresilient contact 14. The confirmation windows 23 are open from the sidewalls 16 to the base wall 15 and the confirmation pieces 34 can beconfirmed visually from lateral and lower sides through the confirmationwindows 23 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, locks 24 are provided on the lower parts ofthe side walls 16 behind the confirmation windows 23. The locks 24 arecut and erected from holes 25 that are open from the side walls 16 tothe base wall 15 and are bent and deformed into the interior of theconnecting portion 11 to be placed in close contact with receivingportions 41 of the resilient contact 14 from above. Specifically, asshown in FIG. 16, in a development state, each lock 24 is cantileveredlaterally out from a base end 24A to a tip 24B. The base end 24A is onthe base wall 15 and the tip 24B is on the side wall 16. As shown inFIG. 6, in a bent state, the locks 24 are folded toward the base wall15B and the receiving portions 41 of the resilient contact 14 aresandwiched vertically (thickness direction of the resilient contact 14)between the tips 24B and the base wall 15. Further, the locks 24 arearranged so that the upper surfaces are lowered from the upper surfaceof the base wall 15 at the base ends 24A (see FIG. 16), and have asmaller thickness than other parts of the connecting portion 11including the base wall 15.

The resilient contact 14 includes a contact main body 26 extending inthe front-back direction and having an angled side view bent at anintermediate position in the extending direction, as shown in FIG. 9.The contact main body 26 includes an apex 27, a front portion 28inclined down to the front from the apex 27 and a rear portion 29inclined down to the back from the apex 27. When the resilient contact14 is mounted in the connecting portion 11, the apex 27 is closest tothe tab receiving portion 22 to form an insertion space 30 for the maletab 89 between the apex 27 and the tab receiving portion 22, as shown inFIG. 7. Additionally, the front end of the front portion 28 is incontact with the projecting piece 21 of the base wall 15 and the rearend of the rear portion 29 is arranged in contact with a position of thebase wall 15 before the lance hole 18, as shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 11, two arcuate curved portions 31 are recessed towardthe widthwise center of the contact main body 26 at opposite lateraledges of the front portion 28 in the plate width direction so that thecontact main body 26 is constricted toward a widthwise center of thecontact main body 26 in a plan view. The front end of the front portion28 is widened before the curved portions 31 and includes a contact piece32 projecting forward in a widthwise central part. The contact piece 32is slidable on the projecting piece 21 of the base wall 15 (see FIG. 5)while being held in contact with the projecting piece 21. Further, theupper surface of the contact piece 32 is pressed to thin the contactpiece 32. Two cuts 33 are formed on opposite widthwise sides of thecontact piece 32 on the front end of the front portion 28.

As shown in FIG. 11, the apex 27 of the contact main body 26 is widerthan the front and rear portions 28 and 29, and confirmation pieces 34are project toward opposite widthwise outer sides. Each confirmationpiece 34 has a substantially rectangular plan view, and is in one of theconfirmation windows 23 for visual confirmation when the resilientcontact 14 is mounted in the connecting portion 11. The confirmationpieces 34 are in a lifted state without being held in contact with theopening edges of the confirmation windows 23, as shown in FIG. 1.

A widthwise central part of the apex 27 of the contact main body 26 isstruck up to form an embossed contact 35, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.The embossed contact 35 extends from the apex 27 to the front portion 28and has a gradually reduced width from the rear of the apex 27 towardthe front portion 28, as shown in FIG. 11. A straight edge 36 having astraight side view is formed on the upper surface of the embossedcontact 35, as shown in FIG. 9, and has substantially the same angle ofinclination as the front portion 28.

A contact start position 37 is at the front of the straight edge 36 ofthe embossed contact 35 (see FIG. 14) and makes the first contact withthe male tab 90 inserted into the connecting portion 11. A contact endposition 38 is on a rear part of the straight edge 36 of the embossedcontact 35 and contacts the male tab 90 that has been insertedcompletely into the connecting portion 11 (see FIG. 15). As shown inFIG. 11, the contact start position 37 of the embossed contact 35 isside by side with most recessed parts 39 of the curved portions 31 andhence is at the narrowest part of the front portion 28 of the contactmain body 26. The contact end position 38 of the embossed contact 35 isbehind the rear ends of the curved portions 31 and is arranged coaxiallyside by side with the confirmation pieces 34 in the width direction.Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the contact end position 38 is theuppermost part of the embossed contact 35 and is closest to the tabreceiving portion 22 when the resilient contact 14 is mounted in theconnecting portion 11.

As shown in FIG. 11, the rear portion 29 of the contact 26 graduallynarrows from the apex 27 toward the back and is unitary with thereceiving portions 41 on a rear part thereof. The receiving portions 41protrude laterally out from opposite lateral edges of the rear end ofthe rear portion 29 so that the receiving portions 41 are at oppositewidthwise sides of the rear portion 29 of the contact main body 26.Further, a support 42 extends along the width direction at a positionimmediately before a part of the rear portion 29 of the contact mainbody 26 coupled to the receiving portions 41. The resilient contactportion 14 is vertically resiliently deflectable with the supporting 42as a fixed end.

The receiving portions 41 protrude laterally from the rear portion 29 ofthe contact main body 26 and then project forward, as shown in FIG. 11.Forwardly open slits 43 are formed between the opposite lateral edges ofthe contact main body 26 and the forward projecting parts of thereceiving portions 41. The slits 43 extend obliquely out and forward inthe front-back direction and are spaced farther from each other towardthe front. Rear ends of the slits 43 are at substantially the sameposition as the support 42 in the front-back direction. In other words,the support 42 is arranged substantially on a straight line connectingrear ends of the slits 43.

The receiving portions 41 gradually widened from the front ends towardthe back in reverse proportion to the rear portion 29 of the contactmain body 26 gradually narrowing toward the back. As shown in FIGS. 11and 12, a crimping surface 44 is formed on the upper surface of eachreceiving portion 41 and is held by one of the locks 24. The crimpingsurfaces 44 are lowered slightly from the upper surfaces of oppositefront and rear sides of the receiving portions 41 by a press. Thus, thereceiving portions 41 are thinned at the crimping surfaces 44. Further,as shown in FIG. 11, the crimping surfaces 44 extend farther back thanthe slits 43 while facing the slits 43 at inner sides and intersect withopposite widthwise ends of the support 42 at an intermediate position inthe front-back direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the locks 24 closelycontact the crimping surfaces 44 of the receiving portions 41, so thatthe receiving portions 41 are fixed by caulking to the connectingportion 11 and are sandwiched between the locks 24 and the base wall 15.

Outer lateral edges of the receiving portions 41 corresponding to thecrimping surfaces 44 are recessed to form cuts 46, as shown in FIG. 11.The base end portions 24A of the locks 24 fit in the cuts 46 when thereceiving portions 41 are fixed by caulking by the locks 24, therebyfixing the locks 24 in the front-back direction.

The resilient contact 14 is placed on the base wall 15 of the connectingportion 11 in a development state (see FIG. 16). More particularly, thelocks 24 are placed in close contact with the crimping surfaces 44 ofthe receiving portions 41 of the resilient contact 14 by a press. As aresult, the receiving portions 41 are fixed by caulking and aresandwiched between the locks 24 and the base wall 15 (see FIGS. 5 and6). The slits 43 are between the receiving portions 41 and the contactmain body 26. Additionally, the receiving portions 41 and the locks 24are thinned. Thus, a caulking force received from the locks 24 by thereceiving portions 41 does not affect the support 42 significantly andthe support 42 does not deform.

Subsequently, in the development state, parts of the base wall 15protruding toward opposite widthwise outer sides are successively bentto define the side walls 16 and the facing wall 17 and to form theconnecting portion 11. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the terminal fitting10 is inserted into the cavity 61 of the connector housing 60 in a stateconnected to the end part of the wire 80, and held and retained by thelocking lance 62.

The housing 60 is connected to the unillustrated mating housing so thatthe mating male tab 90 is inserted into the connecting portion 11 of theterminal fitting 10 from the front. As shown in FIG. 14, the male tab 90first contacts the connection start position 37 of the embossed contact35 and the contact main body 26 accordingly is deflected and deformedabout the support 42. The embossed contact 35 is displaced down as thecontact main body 26 is deflected and the contact piece 32 slidesforward on the projecting piece 21. The support 42 is located behind thefront ends of the receiving portions 41 and the entire longitudinallength of the contact main body 26 is ensured to be sufficiently long sothat the contact main body 26 exhibits satisfactory springiness.Further, the part of the contact main body 26 corresponding to theconnection start position 37 of the contact portion 35 is narrowed bythe curved portions 31. Thus, resistance received by the male tab 90 atthe connection start position 37 is reduced and insertion feeling isimproved.

The male tab 90 is inserted to a proper depth in the connecting portion11 when the housing 60 is connected properly to the mating housing.Thus, the male tab 90 is sandwiched resiliently between the connectionend position 38 of the embossed contact 35 and the tab receiving portion22, as shown in FIG. 15. The connection end position 38 of the embossedcontact 35 at the apex 27 of the contact main body 26 is widened due tothe protruding confirmation pieces 34. Therefore, the male tab 90contacts the embossed contact 35 with proper contact pressure at theconnection end position 38.

The connection start position 37 of the embossed contact 35 is alignedwith the most recessed parts 39 of the curved portions 31. Thus, aninserting force of the male tab 90 is reduced significantly andinsertion feeling is improved. On the other hand, the connection endposition 38 of the embossed contact 35 is not aligned with the curvedportions 31 and good contact pressure of the male tab 90 is ensured whenconnection is complete.

The rear portion 29 of the contact main body 26 gradually narrows towardthe back and the support 42 is at the narrowest part. Thus, theinsertion force of the male tab 90 is reduced and the insertion feelingis improved. Furthermore, the gradually narrowing of the rear portion 29of the contact main body 26 toward the back forms empty spaces atopposite widthwise sides of the rear part of the rear portion 29 and thereceiving portions 41 are arranged in these empty spaces. Thereforespace efficiency is improved. Further, the widths of the rear ends ofthe receiving portions 41 can be increased in accordance with the narrowsupport 42 so that large crimping surfaces 44 to be locked by the locks24 can be ensured. As a result, the resilient contact portion 14 isfixed stably to the connecting portion 11 via the receiving portions 41.

The support 42 is behind the front ends of the receiving portions 41 andthe locks 24 are arranged within the range of the longitudinal length ofa spring area of the resilient contact 14. Thus, the spring area of theresilient contact portion 14 is sufficiently long. As a result, theresilient contact 14 exhibits satisfactory springiness even if theconnecting portion 11 is shortened with the miniaturization of theterminal fitting 10.

The support 42 is between the rear ends of the slits 43 on the rear partof the contact main body 26. Thus, the length of the spring area of thecontact main body 26 is ensured to be even longer by the depth of theslits 43 and the springiness of the resilient contact portion 14 isimproved further.

The receiving portions 41 are thinner than the other parts of theresilient contact 14. Thus, a caulking force exerted by the locks 24 onthe receiving portions 41 is less likely to be transmitted to thesupports 42 and the support 42 will not deform. As a result, the contactmain body 26 deforms smoothly.

The confirmation windows 23 of the connecting portion 11 enable visualconfirmation the confirmation pieces 34 of the resilient contact 14 fromlateral and lower sides to confirm proper positioning of the resilientcontact 14 in the connecting portion 11.

FIGS. 17 to 19 show a second embodiment of the invention. The secondembodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a resilient contact14A is cantilevered back from a front end. A support 42A and receivingportions 41A are provided on a front part of the resilient contact 14Aand locks 24C are provided on a front part of a connecting portion 11.Other parts of the second embodiment are similar to the first embodimentand are not described again.

As shown in FIG. 19, two locks 24C are provided before both confirmationwindows 23 on lower end sides of both side walls 16 of the connectingportion 11. As in the first embodiment, the locks 24C are cut anderected from holes 25A that are open from the side walls 16 to a basewall 15 and are bent and deformed into the interior of the connectingportion 11. Tips 24E are held in close contact with crimping surfaces44A of the receiving portions 41A of the resilient contact portion 14A.The receiving portions 41A of the resilient contact 14A are caulked bythe locking portions 24C and sandwiched between the tips 24E of thelocking portions 24C and the base wall 15.

As shown in FIG. 19, two receiving portions 41A are provided on a frontportion 28 of a contact main body 26 of the resilient contact 14A.Couplings 41B protrude toward opposite lateral sides from a front end ofthe front portion 28 and projecting portions 41C project back from thecouplings 41B. Slits 43A are provided between the projecting portions41C of the receiving portions 41A and the opposite lateral edges of thefront portion 28 of the contact main body 26. Opposite lateral edges ofthe front portion 28 of the contact main body 26 include curved portions31A extending forward in a curved manner from both confirmation pieces34 and straight portions 48 extending straight forward from the frontends of the curved portions 31A. The coupling portions 41B of thereceiving portions 41A are unitary with the straight portions 48.

The crimping surfaces 44A of the receiving portions 41A are providedover the entire widths of the couplings 41B and the projecting portions41C except on front end parts of the couplings 41B. The receivingportions 41A are thinner in parts corresponding to the crimping surfaces44A. Further, as in the first embodiment, the outer lateral edges of thereceiving portions 41A are recessed in parts corresponding to thecrimping surfaces 44A to form cuts 46A. When being caulked to thereceiving portions 41A, the locks 24C are fit the cuts 46A and theresilient contact 14A is fixed with respect to the locking portions 24Cin the front-back direction.

As shown in FIG. 19, a support 42A extending straight in the widthdirection is provided substantially at the same position as the frontends of the slits 43A and rear ends of the couplings 41 B in thefront-back direction on the front end of the front portion 28 of thecontact main body 26. As in the first embodiment, the support 42A isarranged within the formation range of the receiving portions 41A andthe locks 24C for locking the receiving portions 41A in the front-backdirection.

As shown in FIG. 18, the front portion 28 of the contact main body 26 isinclined up from the support 42A to an apex 27. Further, as shown inFIGS. 18 and 19, a rear portion 29 of the contact main body 26 includesa main rear portion 47 inclined down toward the back from the apex 27,gradually narrowed and inclined at a constant angle of inclinationtoward the back from the confirmation pieces 34. A tip rear portion 49extends with a constant width from the main rear portion 47 to the rearend and bends somewhat up. The tip rear potion 49 is in contact with theupper surface of the base wall 15.

Here, when being inserted into the connecting portion 11 from front, amale tab 90 comes into contact with an embossed contact 35 of theresilient contact 14A and the resilient contact portion 14A deflectsdown about the support 42A. At this time, the tip rear portion 49 of theresilient contact 14A moves back while sliding on the upper surface ofthe base wall 15. Thus a force of the resilient contact 14A acting onthe male tab 90 does not become excessive and an increase in insertionresistance of the male tab 90 is suppressed.

The invention is not limited to the above described and illustratedembodiments. For example, the following modes are also included in thetechnical scope of the present invention.

The curved portion may be formed only on one lateral edge of the contactmain body.

The contact start position of the embossed contact need not alignprecisely with the most recessed parts of the curved portions in thewidth direction and has only to be approximately at a position betweenrecessed parts of the curved portions.

One lock may be provided on the connecting portion and only onereceiving portion may be provided on the resilient contact.

The support of the first embodiment may be behind the rear ends of thereceiving portions. Further, the support of the second embodiment may bebefore the front ends of the receiving portions. In short, the receivingportions merely have to overlap the spring area (area from the supportto the end part of the resilient contact opposite to the support) of theresilient contact in the front-back direction.

The confirmation pieces may be configured to contact the opening edgesof the confirmation windows when the resilient contact is in a naturalor a deflected state.

The insulation barrel may be crimped and connected to a rubber plugmounted on the insulation coating of the end part of the wire.

What is claimed is:
 1. A terminal fitting (10), comprising: a tubularconnecting portion (11) into which a mating male tab (90) is to beinserted; and a plate-shaped resilient contact (14) formed separatelyfrom the connecting portion (11), the resilient contact (14) havingopposite first and second end parts spaced apart in a front-backdirection and being disposed in the connecting portion (11) forresiliently contacting the male tab (90) inserted into the connectingportion (11), wherein: the connecting portion (11) includes at least onelock (24) for locking the resilient contact (14) to the connectingportion (11); a support (42) provided on the second end part of theresilient contact (14) and supporting the resilient contact (14) in theconnecting portion (11); and the resilient contact (14) having a part(44) locked by the lock (24) and provided at a position overlapping anarea extending from the support (42) to the second end part of theresilient contact (14) in the front-back direction.
 2. The terminalfitting of claim 1, wherein the resilient contact (14) includes acontact main body (26) extending in the front-back direction and tworeceiving portions (41) protruding toward opposite outer sides from thesecond end part of the contact main body (26), the receiving portions(41) include the part (44) of the resilient contact (14) locked by thelock (24).
 3. The terminal fitting of claim 2, further comprising twoslits (43) formed in the resilient contact (14) between the contact mainbody (26) and the receiving portions (41) and extending from positionson sides of the support (42) toward the first end part in the front-backdirection.
 4. The terminal fitting of claim 2, wherein the locks (24)are caulked into engagement with receiving portions (41) to fix theresilient contact (14) to the connecting portion (11) by the lock (24)and formed to be thinner than other parts of the resilient contact (14).5. The terminal fitting of claim 4, wherein the receiving portions (41)are thinner than other parts of the resilient contact (14).
 6. Theterminal fitting of claim 1, wherein the support (42) is located on arear end part of the resilient contact (14) and is behind a front end ofthe part (44) to be locked by the lock (24).
 7. The terminal fitting ofclaim 1, wherein the support (42A) is located on a front end part of theresilient contact (14) and is before a rear end of the part (44A) to belocked by the lock (24).